The self-proclaimed white supremacist who killed 10 people in a Buffalo supermarket last month in a mass shooting left a handwritten note to parents apologizing for his act, but adding that he “had to commit this attack” because he cared “for the future of the White race,” The Daily Beast reports.
Federal prosecutors revealed the note written by 18-year-old Payton Gendron this Wednesday. It was reportedly discovered in his bedroom by FBI agents. They found a receipt that showed Gendron bought a candybar at the same supermarket on March 8 and “handwritten sketches of what appear to be interior layout of the Tops.”
It's known that Gendron targeted the supermarket due to the fact that it was mostly frequented by Black people.
On Wednesday, was charged with 26 counts of hate crimes and firearms offenses in regards to the mass shooting. He will face the death penalty if convicted.
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The gunman shot four people in the store's parking lot, three of them fatally, before going inside.
Among those killed inside the store was a retired police officer working as an armed security guard. He was able to fire several shots at the assailant before being shot, police said.
When police arrived, the shooter put the gun to his neck, but was talked down and surrendered.
The victims were ordinary shoppers and store workers.
Media reports linked the shooter to a 180-page manifesto that described a white supremacist ideology and laid out a plan to target a mainly Black neighborhood.
In addition to mentioning the South Carolina church shooting, the gunman reportedly said he had been "inspired" by the gunman who killed 51 people in a New Zealand mosque in March 2019.
A semi-automatic weapon used in Saturday's shooting also had a racial epithet written on its barrel, according to local daily The Buffalo News, citing a local official.
With additional reporting by AFP
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